Device for registering fares



(No Model.)

0. S. POSS.

DEVICE FOR REGISTERING FARES.

No. 299,214. Patented May 2'7, 1884.

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CHARLES SIDNEY FOSS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR REGISTERING 'FARES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 299,214, dated May 2'7, 1884.

I Application filed December 5, 1883. (No model.)

T0 11% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES SIDNEY Foss, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Registering Fares; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The mechanism to operate this device for registering fares of different values is contained in a small rectangular box attached in any conspicuous place in the car, said box containing two or more spring-rollers or drums, upon which is wound a strip with numerals printed thereon, which will represent, when in view, the number of fares registered, while two receiving-drums operated by proper mechanism receive the strip as the fares are rung off. In the lower part of the box is ashaft, to which are firmly attached two oppositely-disposed levers. Theseflevers are moved by a stiff wire running the length of the car, to be operated by the conductor when registering a fare or fares. Each of these levers bears against a prong of a three-armed lever mounted on the same shaft as the receiving-drums, the other prongs carrying, respectively, a hammer to operate a gong and the other apawl working on a ratchet attached to a drum, which receives the strip from the spring-roller. Minor details of construction will hereinafter be more fully explained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of the devices embodying my invention, the back plate of the casing having been removed, portions of the shell of the spring-rolls being broken away to show the springs, which are sectioned. Fig.

2 represents a Vertical cross-section of the same on the line a: x of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 represents a reduced view of the front of the easing, the indicatingstrips being shown through the openings in said front.

In these drawings, A represents a rectanguits drum B, is operated by a feed-pawl, c, which v riphery of said wheel.

lar iron box, to be securely locked, containing two spring-rolls or drums, B B, for containing the strips a a with printed numerals. As the drums B B and the springs 2 2 contained therein are similarly arranged, and operated in precisely the same manner, I shall proceed to describe and refer in detail to but one registering device. Each spring-roller B is placed in the lower front portion of the box proper, and the registering-strip wound thereon passes upward over a secondary roll, 00, and thence down to the receiving-drum B, which, by its operating mechanism, draws the strip upward and unwinds it against the tension of the spring contained within 13, which instantly rewinds it when allowed to act freely; The receivingdrum B is centered loosely on a shaft, 0, within said drum, and firmly attached thereto is a ratchet-whee1, b. This ratchet-wheel b, with 0 forms the lower extremity of a loosely-swing- 7 ing arm, D, the latter being pivoted to the outer end of one prong, c, of a three-armed lever, E, loosely attached to the central shaft, 0. To prevent lost motion, and likewise to actuate the ratchet-wheel b as the pawl is moved over the teeth by the lever E, I have attached to the arm D a long spur or stud, f, which, through the intermediary spring-coil, g, is drawn and firmly held against the pe- This spur or arm f answers a secondary purpose, to be more fully hereinafter explained. The upper prong, c, of the lever E carries a bell-hammer, p, which strikes the gong j every time a fare is registered by means of the intermediate parts, h the third prong of the lever-and the reciprocating arm F, attached to the shaft G. The arm F strikes against prong h, and this compels said third prong, i, to cause the hammer 9, carried thereby, to strike the gong j. The arm F is used for operating the mechanism for registering half fares. The arm F, of similar construction and mounted on the same shaft, operates in like manner to register full fares. To return the lever F and its various attachments to their normal positions from the position which they occupy after registering a fare to be ready to register'the next one, I have secured one end of a spring or springs, 70 70, to

a stud, H, attached to the side of the box A, the other end resting in small detcnts formed in a flange or rib, 72/, cast upon the prong l1.

To effectcommunication from the horizon tal rod Z, running the length of the car, to the shaft 0 and its connecting mechanism, I extend the shaft G outside the end wall of the box A, and to its extremity attach one end of a reciprocating arm, L, the other being secured to the rod Z.

After the trips of the car are discontinued and the fares removed, it becomes necessary to reset the printed strip a and have it stand at zero or blank, ready for the commencement of a fresh trip. To effect this I extend a shaft, M, longitudinally of the box, and above the drums B B, and to this attach firmly an arm, N, terminating in a stoppawl, m. This pawl prevents the action of the drum-contained spring, by means of the strip or ribbon a,from eilecting a movement of the receiving-drum B in the opposite direction, and acts as astop when the feed-pawl c is removed from the pe riphery of the ratchet-wheel forward over the teeth, in order to effect an active movement of the drum and strip contained thereon. It is evident these pawls c and m must be removed at one and the same moment from the periphcry of the wheel b, in order to permit free action and rotation of the spring-drum B backward, or in the reverse direction, it being understood that the strip a registering the number of fares, is moved against the tension of the spring contained within the drum; hence, to accomplish this result, I affix to the lever or arm N a secondary trip-lever, 0, which, upon movement of the feed-pawl c or semi-rotation of the shaft M, is pressed against the stud f, while the position of the pawl m relatively to the trip-lever 0 is such that it also is removed from the periphery of the ratchet wheel at the same time; hence the spring contained'within the drum B is free to act, and instantly rewinds and returns the strip to said drum B from the receiving-drum B, ready for a fresh trip. The partial rotation of the shaft M to effectthis result is effected by an arm, 1), attached to one end of the shaft M, and reached by the hand of the operator from the outside ofthe box through a slot, 1), in one end of the said box. It is necessary that this opening 1) should be protected by a lock of some kind, as the record of fares can be tampered with, provided access can be had to the lever 19.

It is evident that, in addition to the pair of drums shown, one or more additional ones with their respective mechanism can easily be added to and contained within the same box, the only addition being a second wire, Z, extending the length of the car. These two drums may be employed to register cash fares and transfers.

On the shaft M, I have attached a coiled spring, g, which is so arranged after the re lease of the lever 19 in setting the strip to zero as to rotate the shaft M backward, thereby returning the stop-pawl m to its normal position.

Having thus described the various parts relatively to each other, I shall now proceed to show their operation as a whole, in order to effect the registry of a single fare.

The operator presses the wire Z in the direction desired (see arrow 1)-say for a half-fareand forces the lever L to move slightly, which movement effects a partial rotation of the shaft G, carrying with it the lever F, which moves forward, overcoming the tension of the spring is, and carries with it the three-armed lever E by means of the prong 71., which rests against it, the other prongs being moved through an equal are; hence c, with its fcedpawl, advances the ratchet-wheel b and receiving-drum B a distance sufficient to unwind from the spring-roller B the strip a, and shows the numeral 1 on the front of the box A. At the same moment the conductor, releasing the wire Z, allows the spring k to exert its normal function, which quickly restores the lever F to its original position, carrying with it the hammer p, attachedto the arm i, and, striking the gong j, announces to the occupants of the car that a fare has been properly recorded. As I previously mentioned, this operation effects a register of a half-fare. To effect a movement for the record of a whole fare, I have disposed the lever F (which I have not hitherto described, it being similar to arm F in construction, operation, and arrangement, except as hereby pointed out) in an opposite direction on the shaft G; hence a movement of the latter to actively move F withdraws F from contact with prong h and its connecting mechanism and the whole remains inactive, while an active movement of F will produce a similar inactive position of F.

To indicate the proper movement of the rod Z for the registration of a fare of a certain value, I attach a marker with arrows indicating the proper thrust to be given said wire by the conductor desiring the registration of such fare, the value being placed above said arrow:

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a railway-registering device, the rod Z, in combination with the shaft G, provided with its two oppositely-disposed levers F F, the printed ribbons, and the three-armed lever E and its connect-ing mechanism to feed the printed ribbons a a forward at every movement of said rod, and thereby register a fare.

2. The combination of the spring-rollers B B and receiving-drums B B, provided with the ratchet-wheel b b, the spring-actuated lever E and its attendant mechanism, as herein described, the operating-lever F, rocking-shaft G, and red I, substantially as and for purposes described.

3. In a railway-registering device, the combination, with the spring-actuated rollers and receivingdrums for storing the printed ribbons, of therel eaingmechanism, :isherein dethe studs f, as. and for 'purposes herin dem scribed, whereby the strip is restored to its scribed. j 1 I normal position upon the rollers, substantially In testimony whereof Iafiix my signature-in as and for purposes set forth. presence, of two witnessa. 5 4. In amilway-re istering ew'ce the comv bination of the, rolleis B, the shaft 6%, arms F CHARLES SIDNEY F, and pawl and ratchet mechanism, and the Witnesses: P

I receiving-drums B, with the spring-actuated A. F. HAYDEN,

shaft M, pawls m, and trip-levers o, actuating F. CURTIs; 

